"I feel completely confident now going in to it. At first I was really nervous about it, before I got Eddie, but then when I got Eddie I said, 'You know what, I got the greatest stand up [comedian to host],'" the director told Access at the junket. "If you look at the Oscars, the best hosts have been comedians… Bob Hope, Johnny Carson and Billy Crystal were the three best hosts, and that's what works."

And what can viewers expect from a Murphy/Ratner Oscars?

"Comedy, humor," the filmmaker said. "I want it to have humor. I want it to have heart."